Police swooped on suspected drug dealers in dawn raids in east London today as part of a crackdown on the “cancer” of gang violence.

Specialist teams with sniffer dogs battered down doors at 11 addresses in the Holly Street area of Dalston around 5am.

They were supported by an air unit aboard a Met Police helicopter which is equipped with thermal imaging cameras.

It circled overhead throughout on standby in case any suspects fled. A manhunt team and financial investigators were also on hand to assist.

Nine men and two women were arrested for drug related offences including supply of Class A drugs, possession with intent to supply and conspiracy to supply. They were handcuffed and taken to London police stations.

Led away: a man is arrested in Dalston during the raids
During one raid, witnessed by the Standard, a 17-year-old boy struggled as he was marched from the property. At another in a quiet residential street a woman cried out as her house was stormed, but the suspect was not at home.

Officers also seized cannabis and cocaine in the blitz which formed part of Operation Snowdon (CORR), an intelligence-led operation targeting gang members and those involved in the distribution of drugs.

Detective chief superintendent Tony Nash, temporary Hackney borough commander, said the raids represented the force “striking back” against gangs whose criminality he described as a “cancer” blighting the community.

Raids: Police swooped in Dalston this morning
There was one particularly dangerous and long-standing group, he said, that had been linked to a number of deaths of innocent people across the borough.

He added: “This is the culmination of a long-term operation.

“The main concern for me is a humanistic one.

“Their criminality is a cancer that attacks our community confidence.

“These (deaths of innocent people) are the true costs of what happens with gangs and turf war.”

Arrest: Nine men and two women were taken in by police
As well as weeding out the ringleaders, he said it was important to provide “escape routes” for youngsters who wanted to leave a gang or avoid getting involved with one in the first place.

Detective chief inspector Shabnam Chaudhri warned other criminals that the police would not waver in its fight to make Hackney safer.

She added: “We carried out this operation today because local people don’t want crime or drugs in their communities.

“Drug dealing is never victimless and its impact can ruin lives. We will not give up the fight against crime.”